Green Screen in the Classroom?

How often do we find ourselves coming up with fantastic ideas for students to share their thinking during a unit, but we think we don't have the time or resources to implement?  I have been fortunate enough to work in 2 buildings that both had access to green screens.  My problem wasn't not having access, but rather monitoring students who were ready to record vs the students who still needed time.  Would I allow students to use the green screen in our makerspace alone?  Would I be able to schedule different time slots to avoid using it when another classroom had reserved it?  So many questions came to mind and it seemed much easier to just alternate the assignment to find something much easier (on me) for students to share their work.

One day, my nephew had called to tell me he wanted a green screen for his birthday.  Since I had a small budget and a Pinterest account, I browsed through to see what I could do to create one myself.  I discovered that most people don't actually use fancy expensive green screens after all.  All I would need is green fabric and some clamps.  For my nephew's green screen, I found fabric on sale at JoAnn (always use a coupon!) for $5.  I used PVC pipes to create the stand to hang the fabric.  It was so inexpensive and easy that I wanted one for my classroom, as well.  I didn't have the space in my classroom for a clunky PVC pipe stand, so I opted to just sacrifice a little wall space and used some binder clips for hanging.  Total cost of project: $5.62!

Now, my students have the access to the green screen whenever they are ready and it is convenient for those who need to go back and re record or fix errors.  My students are using it on a daily basis.  I need to keep reminding myself that this process doesn't need to be difficult and doesn't require fancy resources!  My students have created masterpieces on our makeshift green screen :)

Humanizing Your Digital Footprint

I'm a little late to the party on this one, as this post was heavily inspired by a session I attended by George Couros, author of "The Innovator's Mindset", at the SLATE conference in early December.  Couros' session began when George pulled up his agenda on the jumbotron with an empty Google Doc and insisted the audience share out their thoughts, questions and ideas on digital footprints.  As teachers, we are not used to anything that isn't explicitly laid out minute by minute, but I can honestly say it was refreshing to have the power to raise my hand and contribute to a live discussion rather than sit and get.  When no one raised their hand, he began to hunt down audience member's Twitter accounts and exploit them publically.  His strategy worked very well, causing many teachers to get outside their comfort level and have some reflective conversations with their peers.

George had so many eye opening thoughts about how teachers often keep their Twitter accounts on lockdown and only share a few things they want to show off and give a very specific perception of what the "norm" is in their classroom.  He went on to show samples of teacher Twitter accounts and compared  how the teacher accounts who keep their profiles private and post rarely come off significantly less compassionate or "human" than those who list themselves as a father, mother, wife, hunter, baseball lover, cook, etc. and tweet photos from your personal life.  He also pointed out that if you have the mindset to shut students and families out once you walk out of your classroom door, you're not doing your job.  "When you are a school teacher, your job is 24/7.  You don't get to take that hat off.  Classroom teachers leave their work at the door."

George is a strong believer in using social media to change the world or to simply brighten someone's day.  He had example after example of how Twitter changed someone's life. (I only cried twice)  If you are interested in this idea, I strongly encourage you to follow him on Twitter @gcouros.  George tweets a new question each Friday that requires a GIF response.  He also tweets #yourdailyawwwwww to inspire and share positivity.  George's message seemed like such a simple idea to me, but it has changed how I both view and portray myself as a professional (and human) on social media.  How can you humanize your digital footprint?

Meet the teacher - Jillian Miller

I have been teaching in the district for eight years at Whittier and Lowell Elementary, mostly specializing in Mathematics.  When the district first rolled out 1:1 devices, I had 5 iPads to share with my whole class.  I would often find myself using the iPads for students to make simple videos, take photos of learners at work, and practice math fluency facts on some shiny new flashy app I discovered on Pinterest.  Since then, I have learned from my colleagues at WaukOne conferences, as well as some Google Educator professional development and have completely changed how I view and use technology in my classroom.  My favorite way to use technology? Break down walls.

 I have a passion for using technology to break down the walls in my classroom for many reasons.  First, there are so many people and resources bigger than us out there that I want them to be aware of.  My students have Skyped professional authors and illustrators as well as students from other states that have shined so much light on the world they live in.  Second, breaking down classroom walls have set a mindset of inquiry with my students.  When we did a Google Expedition of the phases of the moon, students were able to see a realistic view of the moon which prompted deeper thinking and questioning. Finally, I find students are extremely engaged.  My students have gone on virtual field trips to the San Diego Zoo and a live African safari and months later, still talk about it.  Even students who have behavior challenges are completely engaged in learning with virtual field trips!

I am very grateful for this model tech classroom coaching opportunity so I can continue to grow as an educator and discover more effective ways to break down my classroom walls!